Out of Time
by devil3567
Summary: Is it to late for second chances for Gail and Holly, will they make it? Or will tragedy strike them down?
1. Chapter One

Disclaim: I do not own these characters, rookie blue creators and owners own them.

[The thing about being alone, its never that simple. Being left alone and having no one are constructionally two different things. One more terrifying than the other. Yet here I find myself, sitting alone in an airport wondering how it all turned to shit?] Rewind back 45 min, Gail is walking Holly to the terminal, she's leaving for San Francisco. The walk was silent but not that suffocating silence, more so content silence. Neither one of them wanted to go or be making this walk but they knew that they had to. Once they reached the terminal gail was the first to speak.

" Soooo..." the blonde paused and kicked some lint around on the floor " I guess this is goodbye then" holly looked to gail and put her hand under the blonde's chin and forced her to look at her. " Gail you know this is for the best, you have Sophie to worry about and I have my new job, and distance will only make things worse for us. You know this will never work out if we don't give each other the space we need to move on. So as much as it pains me, yes gail this is goodbye." Holly had to bite her lower lip to quell her sadness and need to cry after such a statement. God how much she wished they didn't have to say goodbye and that this was all some weird dream or nightmare, but it wasn't and it was happening here and now. Gail looked at her with such adoration and love Holly couldn't take it anymore and the tears just flowed down her face effortlessly.

Gail put her hand on Holly's cheek wiping every stray tear away and pulled her into a loving embrace. " Nerd you are by far the single most amazing woman I know, and you have made me want to be better. You have made me grow up and become something I never thought I could be. For that I will always love you, your my plus one for ever lunchbox." Holly let a sob and laugh escape her mouth at the cops openness and ability to make her smile with just a few words. " I know honey and you have changed me for the better, your a cat but you will always be my cat. Oh god tell me we are making a big mistake not staying in touch for the first few months, tell me this long distance thing can work." Gail looked as sad as her in that moment but she picked her head up and simple told her " I truly wish we could but you and I have hashed out every scenario and they all end with us not being friends anymore and resenting the other. I love you Holly and I will prob love you for the rest of my life, but we are doing the right thing. as much as it pains me to admit that." With a couple more goodbyes hugs and kisses they part ways, and Gail watches Holly's plane take off and leave Toronto. She can't stop them now, the tears are just running freely down her face and pooling onto her shirt, and right now she doesn't give a shit. It takes her about an hour to finally get a grip and walk out of the airport alone.

They kept to their word and didn't contact each other for the first month Holly was gone. They both had issues with this and each almost caved in multiple times, but held it together until one of them was contacted about the other through an outside source. This phone call was one that they never saw coming and in retrospect it was the worst call they have ever had to receive in their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own rookie blue or it's characters. Abc and the Canadian networks do.

( This chapter will be taking place 1 week after holly left and about 1 month before the tragedy takes place.)

Gail was sitting alone in her newly acquired apartment so that social services can know that she is taking being Sophie's mom very seriously. The thing is for as much as she complained about the frat house and its occupants she truly missed being around them and kicking their asses in late night video games. Just as she was pondering what to do next her cell rings, and for a splint second her heart leaps into her throat. Gail thought for just a moment that her nerd was breaking her promise and finally calling her. " Hello, this is Gail." turns out not her nerd at all. " Hey Gail its Tracy, just calling to see how your holding up. We haven't seen you out all week, even Steve was beginning to worry." Both women chuckled at the thought of Gail's brother being worried. " Trace i'm fineee." She says not ver convincingly, and Tracy can hear it in her tone. " Well I was just chilling at home by myself, leo is at a sleep over and your brother is working late on a case. Why don't you come over we can drink some wine and just relax." Gail thought about that option for a bit " i'm sorry Trace not tonight, I think i'm gonna head to bed early tonight, I'm on shift tomorrow."

" Sure thing Gail, I am here for you if you need anything or a sounding board, or a shoulder to cry on. Yes I know Gail Peck doesn't need a shoulder to cry on, but I am here regardless if you need anything." For a second she felt guilty for ditching on Tracy, but she knew she wouldn't be the best company and she just wanted to be swallowed up by the earth so she can just forget about the love of her life for just one minuet. " Thank you Tracy, I mean it. I am just not the best company right now, I can't get Holly out of my head, so I just want to go to sleep and forget about the day." Tracy understood more than most would and she didn't want to push her friend, because if there is one thing you don't do with Gail, it is to push her. " Sure thing Gail, get some rest we will talk tomorrow. Goodnight Gail." " Goodnight Tracy, thanks again." with the final pleasantries said both women hung up and Gail took the opportunity to get ready for bed and put an end to this day. I mean its got to get better than this as more time passes by, right.

The next few days blew by, as Gail threw herself into her work as a TO. If you asked anyone at 15 they would say that she is killing it as a training officer but Gail would tell you shes doing just ok. " Hey Joe get your shit together and lets get out there, crime waits for no one." the meager rookie hoped to it " ummm Officer Peck my name is actually dan." the look that followed that comment could only be described is lethal as a death stare could be. "Joe get this through your thick skull, I don't care if your name is dan robert or dill. I am going to call you what ever the hell I want to and your going to take it until you do something worthy of getting me to call you by your birth name." Her rookie scrambled for the exit with his go bag in tow with a silent yes officer Peck and that was that. Tracy saw this whole interaction and was dying. " Omg Gail you are to much sometimes, but great way to instill the needed fear in your rook so he will follow your command. Ever think of becoming a detective? You would be killer in interrogation with those steely looks." Gail scoffed at the aforementioned detective spot. " Not all of us look as dashing as you in a suit." With that said Gail sauntered off to her squad to start a potentially horrendous day.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own rookie blue or it's characters. Abc and the Canadian networks do.

( This takes place 3 weeks before the incident)

Holly was thankful for the distractions of her new job. She threw herself into work as soon as she landed. Every time she found herself with downtime, she couldn't stop the longing and sadness would creep up on her and she would withdraw from the world into her own personal turtle shell of sadness. So here she is on a Friday night working overtime again wondering about what her snarky cop is up too.

Back in Toronto Gail was at the Penny throwing back drink after drink, just trying everything she can to forget the one person she can't have let alone talk to. Tracy approached the blonde on a mission. " Hey Gail, whats going on, why aren't you answering my messages or calls. Gail turned and looked at her friend and just brushed her off.

" Trace, I am in no mood." The thing is Gail was totally ready to spill her guts just not at the penny, she had enough alcohol in her system to be able to talk freely with her friend. So she does something even herself was shocked she did. " Tracy, take me to your place I am ready to talk!" So Tracy made sure the blondes tab was paid and she lead Gail out of the bar and to her place. When they got there the blonde sprawled out across Tracies couch and made a loud sigh.

Tracy was the first to speak up '' alright Gail, spill, you have been in this mood for the past I don't know 4 weeks. What gives, talk to me." Gail rolled over and eyed her friend and decided what the hell, she doesn't have anything left to lose.

" Well Tracy, lets see where do I start. The love of my life now lives in San Fran without me, the kicker is we decided to not talk for at least the first month. It would be to hard for us to move on if we continued contact. It is slowly killing me Tracy, when Anne told me a good family wanted to adopt Sophie, I mean what am I suppose to do about that. I can't keep her from a potential great life, even if its not with me. I just want what is best for her and it seems this is the best option for her. So I sat her down today and told her that this great family wants to add her to there growing family and that she will be happy and have a brother and be able to have a normal life. We both cried but she was also happy for her potential future, part of me wanted her to say no she refuses to go anywhere other than live with me. So I used the only cooping mechanism, I drank tequila and drowned my sorrows down with alcohol and self deprecating actions.'' Tracy just looked at Gail with her mothering eyes and got up and grabbed Gail and just hugged her.

Gail scoffed '' Tracy you know I don't communicate this way." Tracy just laughed and held on harder " you may not communicate this way but I sure do." They stayed like that until Gail wasn't able to keep her eyes open so Tracy went and made up the guest bedroom and proceeded to call Steve to tell him not to come over that Gail was at her place safe and sleeping off her hang over.

The next week and a half goes by for Holly and Gail without a hitch, they found that the busier they keep themselves the less they thought about calling the other. Then there was a gigantic explosion downtown that rocked the whole place. Pure chaos ensued and What could come from this could be the end to one or more. Then the phone rang, the last call she ever in her wildest dreams expected to receive happened, Forever changing her life.

[ Oh no, is it Gail or Holly, is it them or a friend or both. Whats going to happen you shall not know just yet.]

{ Sorry if there is horrid mistakes in this story or if it doesn't make any sense. I don't reread after I write because I try to post an update each day. Hence why my chapters are short. Please feel free to review or not.}


	4. Chapter 4

Authors note: I am sorry that this update took longer than I expected, had to have my gallbladder removed. I know no excuses, I will try to get back on track and update more frequently. I will also try to reread and edit these before I post them. If anyone is looking to beta, feel free to PM me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue, ABC and the Canadian affiliates do.

8 hours before the explosion

Gail had been going about her day unfazed and trying desperately to forget about the one person who hasn't left her mind. The day to day was starting to get better for her, she made detective, she was living on her own, and she got to visit Sophie from time to time. The one thing that wad missing in her seamlessly perfect life was the woman she couldn't forget. Tracy came into the bull pen breaking Gail's trance.

" Gail, your up we have a possible terrorist plot downtown. We received some chatter on a possible bombing for today's rally downtown." Gail immediately jumped up ready to lend a hand and find the culprit or culprits.

" Trace, what do we have to go on?" Tracy threw a folder down in front of Gail so she could get caught up with what she currently knew, which wasn't much. Granted it was better than nothing.

" Gail this seems to pan out, the bomber has used a VPN to reroute all his server data and his posting of the threat can't be traced or at the very least will take a day or two to find his location. We just don't have that kind of time, as you can see the site has a count down and 5pm today it will go off." They both shared a look and got to work. Oliver pulled every available D from home and other divisions to work their CI's and sent patrols all downtown to find out any intel that could help them stop this act of terrorism.

Meanwhile in San Francisco Holly was working on an autopsy that was a routine cause of death, and in this poor mans fate it was a massive heart attack. Her dictating was interrupted by her intern coming in and asking some mundane questions about post mortem intervals and then of course the kicker was, what exactly is the polices view on medical jurisprudence. That statement did her in, any resolve she thought she had immediately crumbled at the thought of her officer. Which she then followed up chastising herself because she wasn't hers anymore.

Thank god she was done for the day and was gonna head home and finish her reports there. As soon as she got home and opened a lovely red, she decided to call Rachel and complain about how she can't get Gail out of her head. The phone rang a couple of times before Rachel finally picked up.

" Hey Holly are you calling because you heard whats going on?" of course Holly had no idea what her friend was talking about.

" Rach what do you mean, I was calling to tell you about my intern making me think of Gail and how I think I may have made a massive mistake in coming here, and leaving her. I need a sounding board for all these thoughts in my head swirling around. So What's going on, is Lisa getting married?"

There was a long pause before her friend answered.

" Umm no Lisa is not getting married, but there is a lot of commotion down here about a terrorist plot to blow up downtown. They are making all non essential hospital personnel evacuate and possible set up triage's outside of the city. Lisa and I are being evacuated to somewhere outside of the city to help set up disaster planning for a possible bad outcome." Holly dropped her phone and frantically grabbed at it to try and regain some semblance of composure.

" Oh my god Rach that's so scary, do the police have any leads is ummm what division has taken the lead?" Holly stayed still and quiet praying that she didn't say 15

" I'm sorry to tell you this honey but its 15, Gail is one of the lead detectives on the case. That's all I know and I only know that much because ummm..." Rachel stuttered around her response, unsure of how to relay the next message to her.

" Rach spit it out, how do you know all of this?" Please don't say what I think your going to say Rachel. " Hol, Gail called me and wanted to make sure Lisa and I were out of the city and to unmm." Holly burst out " RACHEL, what aren't you telling me?"

" Hol Gail wanted me to make sure you were safe and she made me promise that we would always take care of you. Which of course I reassured her that we would always take care of you." Holly couldn't handle all of this information, she just shut down and told Rachel to be careful and call later to check in. Other than that she switched from the wine to bourbon and decided that she would be taking a personal day tomorrow and drinking her feelings tonight.

How dare Gail reach out to her through her friends after all this time ugh.

45 Min before the explosion

Gail was running frantically down the streets of Toronto screaming for people to get out of the way and to evacuate now. They finally were able to pin down a suspect whom Gail was currently chasing through the streets. The chase eventually ended in one of the financial buildings that had thankfully been evacuated. " Stop right there Ryan, there is no where else to go, just put the bag and gun down and you can walk out of here with me. I don't want to have to shoot you, but I will if I have to and right now your not giving me many options."

Gail watched the man closely, he kept fidgeting and pacing like he was about to lose it and she knew from years of training this guy could not be talked down. So she called over the radio.

" Everyone stand down, no one enter the building I am here with the suspect and the bomb. I repeat no one enters this building." If it was too late for Gail she at the very least had to save anyone and everyone should could, god why hadn't I just moved to San Fran with Holly.

1 hour before the explosion

Holly was on her way to shit faced, and she didn't care. So she picked up her phone and sent off a quick text to the love of her life. God how sappy is that the love of her life, as if she gave anyone else the chance to become the love of her life.

In Toronto

Gail looked down and saw that a text came through from Holly. It was simple yet said everything. " PLUS ONE FOR EVER!" It made her smile, but she had to focus now she was almost to where they believed Ryan Hopkins was holed up waiting to set off his bombs.

Tracy Stayed and helped bomb disposal take care of the bomb in the building when Gail took off running after Ryan.

Back to the financial building Gail saw the twitch in Ryan's eye just before she and him pulled the trigger on their guns both falling to the floor with a resounding thud. Gail was having trouble breathing, the son of a bitch got her right in the chest, of course her vest didn't help much because they were what she believes to be hollow point rounds. She can feel the blood pooling under her vest. Awww fuck, how am I going to go out like this. I never even got to tell Holly how I truly felt about her. Fuck it she's gonna call her, just as soon as she checks on the bomb. She crawls over to it and see's its still intact but the timer reads 10 min. So she pulls out her cell phone and hits speed dial one. As she stands up and starts to make her way out to the front of the building in hopes of at least clearing the majority of the blast site. Holly Picks up after 4 rings, A bit groggy.

" Hello, Gail is that really you?" Gail tried to slow her breathing as she fell to the ground in the lobby, taking cover under the reception desk.

" Hey HOl, ( she starts coughing) how's my favorite girl.." Immediatly Holly knows something is up and it sobers her quickly.

" Gail honey whats wrong, your breathing doesn't sound good, have you been running, whats going on?" Gail coughs a few times and sucks in a haggard breath.

" I fucked everything up Hol, I should have come with you, now its to late." Holly was beside herself. Too late, what the hell was Gail talking about. Oh my god shes hurt and calling you stupid.

" Baby give me a run down of your injuries, sounds like your lungs are full of fluid, did you take a hit to your chest with something?" Gail laughed at her rambling god how she had missed that rambling.

" You need to stop rambling... because I'm not there to kiss you to shut you up. Ok I'm going to give it to you straight. I'm laying in a lobby of one of the financial buildings downtown with a hollow point in my chest and a bomb set to go off in um about 2 min. Holly I fucking love you and hate myself for ruining the best thing to ever happen to me. I want you to move on Hol I want you to find a new love and to have a good and happy life. God I love you so much and I am so sorry I can't be your plus one forever." Holly was in full blown panic mood, she couldn't stop the tears from coming she was dying on the inside.

" You listen to me PECK, get your ass up off that floor and get the hell out of that building, I'm coming home baby and I want you to be there when I arrive. Do you understand me, get the hell out of that building I'm coming home." Gail mustered up every bit of energy she had and pulled herself off the floor and started the trek out of the building. She had just passed through the front doors.

" Hol I LOV..." she didn't get to Finnish her sentence because there was a massive explosion and the line went dead. Holly dropped to her knees crying hysterically for the woman she loved. She got off the floor grabbed some clothes and headed to the airport. There was still a small chance in Holly's denial ridden mind that Gail survived.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or the characters of this show, ABC and their Canadian affiliates do.

By the time Holly got to the airport she was in full on panic mode. She was barely able to purchase her plane ticket and get to her gate, without panic setting in. What if she is dead, oh my god what if the love of my life is gone forever. She called the only other number she had of the officers at 15.

" Hello…. Holly is that you?" Tracy sounded so far away on the phone. " Yeah Tracy it is, Gail called me. Oh god Tracy she was shot in the chest and was inside the building that blew up. Please tell me she's ok and siting with you right now."

" I'm sorry Holly I don't know anything, I just got on scene I was securing the previous scene and just heard she was in there by you." Both women took big breaths to try and control the quiver in their voices. " Tracy I am about to board my flight I will be there soon, if you hear anything at all please call my phone and leave a message or text me. Stay safe please." Tracy nodded even though she knew Holly couldn't see her. " Will do Holly, have a safe flight and I will see you soon. She's a fighter Holly, she's a fighter." Holly finally released the breath she had been holding and hung up with Tracy and boarded her flight.

Meanwhile on scene Tracy was rushing to talk to the scene commander to relay the information that Holly gave her. Chief Williams from the Toronto fire department was the scene lead and in charge of the search and rescue mission. " Chief Williams, I am Tracy Nash the lead detective on this case, I have some information that you may need. My partner was chasing the guy and was in that building, a witness said she was on the phone with her and she had been shot in the chest and was in the lobby when the bomb went off. We need to find her chief, her name is Detective Gail Peck." At hearing the name the chief looked sideways at the young detective in front of him.

" Well detective Nash I will relay the information to my team and we will find her, I know miss peck. I watched her grow up; you have my word we will not give up on her. Bill is a good friend, we will find her." With that being said they parted ways and Tracy went to find Steve, she needed to tell him about his sister. Steve was just outside of the initial explosion site talking to some of the officers from 27, directing them on how best to maintain the scene. God she didn't want to do this, but she had to talk to him.

" Hey Steve, do you have a minuet?" Steven turned to look at his girlfriend and took a long few strides to her and enveloped her into a bear hug kissing the top of her head.

" God when I heard about the explosion I was so scared that you were in there. It took a few years off my life, if I get premature grey's I'm blaming you missy." Steve laughed at his own joke, looking at the serious expression on his girlfriend's face he knew something was up. " What is it Tracy?" She took a big breath and grabbed his hands. " Steve baby, it's.. it's Gail. She was chasing the suspect with the bomb and she was shot in the chest with a hollow point. She was in the lobby of the building when it exploded." He turned to her with this glazed look in his eyes. " What do you mean Tracy, how do you know all of this. Are you positive it was Gail, and how do we know she was still in there?" Tracy did the only thing she could think of to calm the red head down; she pulled him into a fierce hug and whispered in his ear.

" Steve hun, she called Holly from the lobby just before the explosion, she told holly about her injuries and basically said goodbye to her. She's a fighter Steve we will find her, Holly said she had gotten up off the floor and was heading out when the bomb went off. So there is still a chance that she made it out, Holly is on her way here." Steve nodded into Tracy's Shirt and rained in his tears and sadness, his baby sister needed him to be strong and to help find her. So he pulled himself together grabbed his walkie and called it in as a missing officer and alerted all staff to be on the look out.

AN: Sorry the updates haven't been on point lately but I am working on it.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, ABC and their Canadian affiliates do./p

Holly sat anxiously on her seat edge praying silently to whatever god would listen to her. She didn't know whether she should drink till she landed or try to convince herself that everything was going to be OK. The thing is she couldn't partake in either of those options. She wanted to have a clear head when she landed, and she couldn't get her mind to stop racing with all the bad scenarios that could play out. So here Holly sat in first class, because that was the only last minuet ticket she could get. Waiting to hear from Tracy or anyone for that matter, what has transpired in Toronto with Gail. So she tried her best to keep her mind busy and try to relax a little bit before her bad thoughts took the last bit of sanity and hope she had left.

Meanwhile at the scene things had escalated and the search for Gail was in full swing. Even Oliver was on scene digging through rubble and holding out hope that his petulant peck was still alive. It had been more than 4 hours and nothing has turned up yet and the hope was starting to dwindle down, so the masses needed a pep talk. So Olive did what he did best at the command center, and that was rallying his troops.

" Alright guys, I know its been a long 24 hours and hope in finding Gail and anyone else that may have been caught in this blast is dying down. If I know peck she is probably at the local Tim Horton's, throwing back a coffee and a dozen donuts. She will show up when all the heavy lifting is done to lend a hand. Come on guys lets get back out there and do this badge proud and get our officer back and of course help our people." He clapped his hands and a resounding cheer came from the over worked and tired crew now reinvigorated officers.

It was another 2 hours later that anything came about their search and it made the masses look on with such sadness and defeat. Steve broke down first and Tracy and the rest joined him there after. Someone was going to have to go pick up and Holly and tell her. They couldn't decide whom best to do such a task, so Oliver made the decision.

When Holly's plane finally landed what she was meet with made her smile and cry at the same time.

Sorry this is so short, just trying to get an update out there soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or any of their characters. ABC and their Canadian affiliates do.

AN: I am sorry for such short chapters; I am going to try to write longer chapters. This one may not be to long, I'm trying to build suspense.

(2 weeks before the explosion)

Steve knew his sister was seriously down in the dumps about Holly and losing Sophie. Even if she would deny it till she was blue in the face, he knew his little sister. Gail was just not herself. She was back to being rude and mean. Which lets be honest was Gail through and through if you didn't know her. She put up this wall to protect herself, but if she deemed you worthy you got to see the true Gail. The Gail that not many people got to meet. When Holly was in the picture she was true Gail about 96% of the time versus before she was maybe 20 on a good day. Sans Holly walled up Gail was back in full swing and maybe even more guarded than before.

No one could truly blame her though; she went through a lot of heartbreak that year. So as her big brother Steve decided to take action and take Gail shooting, then shopping. Gail was skeptically as to why he was doing all of this but she loved beating him at shooting, and she could never turn down shopping and a free meal.

They got to the range and Gail of course being the ever-competitive sibling challenged Steve to an official Comp Shoot.

" Ok Steven if I win your paying my bar tab for a week." He looked at her and thought about this for a minute. " Gail I feel like that's not that fair at all, because you drink quite a lot in a normal week. What do I get if I win?" Gail let out a raucous laugh that he hadn't heard in quite some time.

" Well Steven you name your poison, because there is no way your beating me." So he stood there for a few moments contemplating what he wanted from this situation. When it struck him, he got an evil smile on his face one that creped Gail out. " Ok my dear sister, I want a baby sitter for a month when ever we ask for one, and I want you to call me Champion of the universe for the entire month including everyday conversations." Gail scoffed at this offer but in the grand scheme of things she wasn't scared and even if she did lose there could be worse things she would have to do.

" It's a deal Steven." With that being said they shook hands and proceeded to shoot like their lives depended on it.

(After the explosion at the airport)

Holly didn't know whether to cry or be happy when she saw who was picking her up at the airport. So she cried whilst embracing her friend. Tracy returned the hug and couldn't contain the tears as well. They broke apart and Tracy was immediately bombarded by questions from Holly.

" Did you guys find Gail, is she ok, is she alive? Where is she and why is it you picking me up?" Tracy stood still in the airport and didn't know how to proceed. So she grabbed Holly's arm and dragged her over to a chair. She wanted her seated for the news she was about to give her.

So Tracy started out slow and methodical answering her questions one at a time. Knowing how Holly was and her being a doctor she didn't want to sugar coat it. " Holly I volunteered to come pick you up today because I knew you would be freaking out and want answers. Gail would have wanted it to be me." Holly let those words sink in; Gail would have wanted it to be me. To her ears and mind it sounded like Tracy was telling her that Gail was no longer alive. Her mind could just not process this new information so she pressed Tracy for a more straightforward answer.

" Be Straight with me here Tracy I am kind of freaking out; oh my god Gail is dead isn't she, she's dead that's why you used her name in the past tense." And with this new information at the forefront of Holly's mind she kind of went off the deep end and started to cry hysterically talking about how it wasn't suppose to happen like this. How her and Gail were suppose to have a happy ending and finally Tracy broke through to her and shook her out of her mini freak out.

" Holly listen to me Gail isn't dead yet. Well at least we don't think she is. We found her vest with the bullet hole and blood and debris all over it. Then we found one of her shoes, a lot of people are trying to write her off as dead but in Oliver and most of 15's eyes we wont believe it till we see it. So I am here to take you to the scene because I know you wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Holly stopped and took all this new information in, she wanted to believe that Gail was still alive, but this voice in the back of her mind wouldn't let up. The logical thinking portion of her brain was telling her that Gail could not have survived that. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her head and got out of her chair, grabbed Tracy's hand and proceeded to the exit.

The car ride to the scene was utterly quiet but not an uncomfortable one. When they arrived at the scene Holly could only describe what she was seeing as a war zone. Debris was scattered for what looked like miles and the building in front of them was in pieces practically and the people were running about and setting up triages and various other tents to aid in the treating and location of people from the blast.

She didn't know where to start first but she knew that her medical training was dearly needed and as much as she want to go hulk on the scene and locate the love of her life; she knew that she was needed at the medical tents first to check in and see where the help was needed.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or the characters. ABC and their Canadian affiliates do.

Authors Note: Thank you all for baring with me and for the longer than intended updates. I know it seems like the drama of Gail missing is dragging on for to many chapters, but my chapters have been way shorter than most chapters should be so bare with that. Thank you all again for reading this story.

(Present day, at the explosion scene.)

Holly had been milling about the triage tents as best as she could, trying to help anyone that needed it. All the while wanting to help the person who needs it the most. She wasn't sure how long she had been there but she had already triaged at least 20 people, ranging from minor to more extensive injuries. She took a slight break to call Tracy to see if there has been an update on Gail.

"Hey Trace its Holly, have you guys heard anything about Gail yet?" The line was silent for a bit then Tracy spoke up. "Hey Holly, no we haven't heard much yet. The rescue crews have just started to pull people out that they are finding trapped in the rubble. So it could possible be a little while Holly. I am sorry I wish I had better and more news for you, we want to find her just as bad. Hang in there Holly, she is the strongest person I know."

As reassuring as Tracy's words were she still worried and couldn't help but let the logical side of her brain make wild scenarios up about her condition. "Thanks Tracy, as soon as any of you hear anything please call me immediately. I am not sure how much more uncertainty my brain can handle." Tracy reassured her that she would call her immediately and told her to be careful and try not to think about it. Holly had to laugh at that, because that was surly harder than working on living people.

So she got back to it and began treating and helping as many people she could; hoping that by keeping herself busy she wouldn't be stuck think about a certain blonde. About an hour or two later she heard a lot of commotion coming from just down the tent, she poked her head out and saw a fireman running with a limp body in his arms. So she dropped everything and made some room on her table to allow the man to place the injured person down. As soon as he moved away and she got a look at who was just placed on her table she went about 4 shades whiter. Lying on her table not moving was a certain blonde officer and she was paralyzed with fear as to what could be wrong with her.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue, ABC and their Canadian affiliates do.

Authors Note: I have been a horrible writer. I have left this story for far to long. I am extremely sorry to all of you who were waiting patiently for an update.

As Holly stood there paralyzed with fear, the rest of the team worked diligently to save Gail. The nurses hooked her up to a monitor and realized that he BP was too low and her heart rate was probably PEA. So they hooked up the defibrillator and began CPR. They looked to Holly for guidance but she was not only out of her depth medically, but she wasn't sure she could form a coherent sentence right now. So she stepped forward " I'm sorry this is way out of my scoop of practice is there a physician around I am a medical examiner." The nurses all looked at her incredibly.

One of the nurses spoke up " Well Doctor if you don't step in now and help she will be your patient soon enough." That kind of sparked Holly into overdrive and she pulled on some gloves and stepped into the ring. She needed to set aside any feelings she has and she needs to be clinical and practical for Gail's sake. " Alright what do we have?"

The nurse that was pushing the meds spoke up first. " Looks like GSW to the chest with probable fractures from the impact of the explosion, we have pushed 2 amps of epinephrine so far and 3 cycles of cpr." Holly calculated everything out, ok unknown downtime, 2 rounds of EPI 6 min of cpr. " Ok push 2 amps of bicarbonate and give me a rhythm check after another round of EPI. We need a surgeon in here, she has a probable cardiac tamponade and we will need to alleviate the pressure around her heart if we want to get her back. The nurses worked hard to do exactly as Holly ordered and they were able to get a surgeon to come in to help.

The surgeon came barreling into the tent. " What do we have here?" Holly looked to him with hope in her eyes for the first time since they dropped Gail on her table. " 28 year old detective single GSW to the chest no exit wound with unknown down time we have now given 3 amps of EPI and 2 amps of bicarbonate. We have been doing CPR for 8 min now." Holly almost squealed out to the surgeon. " Alright rhythm and pulse check please." The nurse stopped compressions and they checked a carotid pulse. The nurse noted no pulse but the monitor showed V-Fib.

" Alright charge the paddles to 250 and shock the patient." The doctor called out, so the nurse charged the paddles and delivered the shock to Gail. All Holly could do was watch in horror as this all unfolded. The monitor showed she was still in V-Fib so the doctor called for one more amp of EPI and dose of amiodorone and another bicarbonate. The nurse did as instructed they shocked her again and the doctor called out " looks like normal sinus rhythm call for a chopper and let me get a paracentesis kit, I'm gonna drain the fluid around her heart. Run some o neg on the rapid transfuser, let's move people this one is a fighter." Holly couldn't believe her ears they got Gail back, they got the love of her life back. She stood back and watched while everyone around her seemed to work in slow motion. She then thought she needed to call Steve and Tracy and tell them she found Gail.

Holly stepped out of the tent just for a second to make her call. Steve picked up on the second ring. " Hey Holly I'm sorry to say I don't have any new updates." She practically cut him off, " Steve I found her, one of the firemen brought her to my tent." The news washed over Steve for second till his brain caught up to what Holly just told him. " Oh thank god, how is she, what's her condition, is she alive?" If she hadn't been paying attention she would have almost missed all of his questions because he spoke them in such haste. " Steve when they brought her in she didn't have a pulse, we worked on her for several minuets and we were able to get her back. The surgeon is in with her now and is working on getting her stable for transport." Steve for the first time that day breathed out a sigh of relief. He told Holly Tracy and him would be there shortly. So Holly decided to go back into the tent to check on Gail. She got back in the tent and heard a siren then something that would stick with her for the rest of her life. " Time of death 1330!"

AN: I'm sorry to end it on another cliff hangar but I'm quite dramatic. As for those who may think I am dragging this out amongst too many chapters. You have to realize that my chapters are far shorter than normal chapters so it's more like 8 chapters is one regular chapter. Eventually time will pick up and move faster, but these chapters are key to the story and need more details in them. Thank you all for reading, reviewing and favoriting. Please let me know what you think, I do appreciate the constructive criticism.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or their characters, ABC and their affiliates do.

Authors Note: I apologize for the short chapters but I will try to update quicker. This chapter takes place directly after the last one. If there is ever a time hope forward or backwards I will let you know.

As Holly took in her surroundings and heard them call time of death she couldn't help herself, she collapsed on the ground and was an inconsolable mess. Everyone looked at her wondering what her problem was, and why was she on the floor looking like a hot mess. What Holly didn't realize was the time of death they called was on the other patient that was in the tent. But finally she gathered herself up and was able to stand up on her own accord. She looked into Gail's face and only then realized that Gail was in fact still alive and she was getting ready to be loaded onto the waiting helicopter.

Holly let out a breath she didn't even realize she was still holding. She turned to the pilot of the helicopter. "Excuse me sir, I was hoping to ride with you to the hospital." He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and intrigue. " Why are you needing to ride with us, we don't usually allow this dr…" "Oh I'm sorry my name is dr. Holly Stewart and she's my girlfriend." Those words came smoothly and carelessly off her tongue, I mean she's my girlfriend right. I know that we haven't been together or had the chance to put a label on it but yes she's my girlfriend.

The pilot looked at her and agreed that she could go if she stayed up front and was quiet.

So with that Holly made a call to Steve and told him where they were heading and to let him know she's stable and being transported now. The entire ride to the hospital was nerve wracking for Holly she could barley contain her inner turmoil. Once they landed on the helipad she got out and was ushered into the ER so that they could stabilize Gail's injuries, and get a better picture of what surgical interventions she would need. Holly sat down in the waiting room with the promise from the charge nurse that she would update her as soon as a decision was made on Gail's surgical needs. So there she was waiting and pacing back and forth in the confines of the waiting room, waiting to here any news about the woman she loves more than anything in this world. She was so in her head she didn't hear Steve and Tracy approach her.

Tracy came up to Holly slowly "Holly have you heard any news yet?" Holly turned around and immediately enveloped Tracy in what could easily be described as someone clinging to a life raft in a stormy sea. "Oh Tracy thank god you are here, I haven't heard anything new yet they took her back to the ER about 10 minutes ago. The charge nurse promised to come and update me as soon as there is new information on her condition and their surgical approach." Tracy turned to Steve and took his hand in her's as Holly grabbed him in a hug and tried her best to put on a brave face and reassure him. "She's a fighter Steve she has made it this far, and according to most of my training she should never have made it this far, but she won't give up on us. She won't leave us or her beloved cheese puffs." That incited a raucous laugh from the group. So they all sat down to wait for the update from Gail's team.

It didn't take to long for the charge nurse to come out and update everyone on Gail's condition an location. She called out for Holly who stood up immediately along with Steve and Tracy. "How is Gail, what's the damage?" Holly quickly questioned. " condition is critical she was rushed into surgery just now, they got her scans back and she lacerated her internal mammory along with the right ventricle. The bullet did a decent amount of damage to the surrounding area, the doctors are hoping to get away with a right thoracotomy to repair the damage. The damage from the explosion was mostly to her abdomen which there is a little free fluid in morrisons pouch meaning she may have a spleenic laceration. The surgeons are hopefully that they will be able to maintain the bleeding there. Now her head is another thing, she must have been thrown backwards because she has a subdural hematoma, so we have neurosurgery in there as well taking care of that with a craniotomy. She has a lot of fighting ahead of her, but she is strong and quite the fighter." Holly sat down almost defeated, Jesus Gail has so much wrong with her, no Holly she has to make it she has to.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or their characters, ABC and CTV and other Canadian affiliates do.

As Holly sat down looking defeated, the rest of the group looked at her reaction to the news and immediately assumed the worst. No one said anything for the next few minuets, they all sat processing exactly what they had just heard. Steve took one of Holly's hands into his own and sat there holding on to the hope that Gail would pull through; Tracy did the same thing on the other side of Steve trying to convey all her strength to him. It was going to be a rough few hours.

Meanwhile in the operating room Gail had arrested twice on the table and was brought back successfully both times. The cardiac surgeon finally finished his portion of the surgery, so he scrubbed out to go and update the family. This was his least favorite part of the job, but he was hopeful. Holly immediately saw the surgeon coming around the corner and jumped up to get a much-needed update about Gail.

"Doctor, how is Gail, were you able to maintain a thoracotomy, and what was the damage?" He was a bit taken aback by her rapid-fire questions, and her obvious medical knowledge. "I was able to do everything through a right thoracotomy, she coded twice on the table from blood loss and ventricular arrhythmias. My part of the procedure is done; I was able to repair her artery and right ventricle. Miss Peck is a fighter; the neuro surgeon was still finishing up the craniotomy. Doctor Smith should be out soon to give you the final update on miss Peck." Holly hugged the doctor and thanked him profusely. Steve was standing beside Holly waiting for her to break all of that down into English for him. " Holly what the heck does all that mean, is Gail alright?" Holly pulled Steve in for a hug "yes Steve, Gail is alive and so far the outcome is looking far better than when she arrived. Our girl is a fighter, she's not giving up just yet, neither should we. We shall await the neuro surgeons report." Steve was so thankful he pulled Holly in for another crushing hug and they all sat back down to a wait the finally condition report on their beloved Peck.

The surgery was finished, and Gail was being prepared to be transported up to the ICU; So the surgeon went out to update the family on her condition. "Is the family for miss Gail Peck here?" Steve, Holly, Tracy and Oliver all jumped up and came forward claiming Gail as their family. Holly Stepped forward "Doctor, yes we are all her for Detective Peck. How is she doing, what's her prognosis?" he stepped a little closer to the sea of people. "Miss Peck is doing ok for now, she is still in critical condition. She isn't out of the woods just yet; she still has a lot of fighting left to do. We will be lucky if she just has some memory lapses, we are just playing the waiting game now and trying to see if and when she wakes up. We are not yet sure of what kind of permanent damage she may have suffered." They all thanked the doctor and sat back down, waiting for the nurse to come take them back to see Gail. The nurse came around after getting Gail settled into her room and told them she could have 1-2 visitors at a time. Holly spoke up "Steve you and Tracey should go first followed by Oliver, I'll go after him." Holly was nervous she didn't know what to say or do; for once in her life she was speechless and unsure of things. So they did as she said, they all went in and had their time with Gail. They all came out looking out of it or a little spooked by what they had witnessed. The group was not used to seeing Gail so quiet and fragile. So it was finally Holly's turn, she slowly made her way to her room not wanting to see for her self how bad it truly was. As she opened the door and walked in the sight before her almost made her break down. She shook it off and proceeded to pull up a chair to Gail's bed and sit down to hold her hand close. "Gail, I'm not even sure if you can hear me, but I don't care. Oh god baby I've missed you so much. I can't go on living without you in my life; I am coming back home baby. So you have to wake up and come back to me, I refuse to go on living without for another second of my life." She proceeded to email her boss in San Francisco to tell him that she will not be returning and that she was sorry to inform him that she will be resigning her position. She will figure out the rest later, right now all she needed to do is focus on Gail and getting her better.

(About 3 weeks later)

Gail was still in a coma but the doctors were optimistic about her outcome, she was making more purposeful movements as the time passed day by day. Holly was offered a promotion in the old Toronto office she worked in before moving to San Francisco. She would come to the hospital everyday before and after work. It took a lot of convincing from her friends and family for her to go home to sleep, she is almost as stubborn as Gail Steve said. Thanks to Gail's efforts with the bomb, the damage was far less than it would have been; the lives lost you could count on one hand and two of them were the bombers so not too shabby. It was later that week when Holly was in visiting her that she started to come to. "Gail baby, come on wake up. Come back to me, stop being lazy and open those beautiful blue eyes." As if on cue Gail's eyes shot open and there in front of her stood Holly, Gail looked up with a quizzical stare. So Holly was scared that she didn't know who she was. "Gail its me Holly, oh my god you don't know who I am, you've lost your memory. They said this could happen and I didn't want to believe them and here you are confused as to who I am I cant believe this has happened after everything." Gail interrupted her "Lunchbox, you're going to have to stop rambling because I am in no condition to kiss you to stop your further on slate of words." Holly was crying by this point "you remember me!" Gail let out a hearty laugh "yes nerd I could never forget you!"

After a semi happy reunion, the pair got back together and worked on their relationship. The actions of that fateful day have only further solidified their love for one another and they were finally able to be h0onest with one another about what they wanted and felt. Holly moved back to Toronto and her and Gail got a place together and have been going strong ever since. Their relationship is stronger than ever and they are even considering marriage and kids in the future. For now they were enough for one another and there were no complaints.

(That's it for now, sorry I haven't updated in a long time. Took me a while to get back to it. Might follow up with another story not sure yet.)


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